Coffee Ice Cream Pie

Truth:  I'm not a very good baker.  It's tedious and precise and I don't have the patience for it:  candy thermometers, scales, sifters, leveling, and I'm not even really sure what blind-baking is.  Aaarrgghh....It's too much.  I only know how to make 4 or 5 desserts, and this is one of them.

It's softened ice cream in a pan with a no-bake crust.  Foolproof.  Then it sits in the freezer for a few hours by itself while you do...whatever.  But what are you not doing?  Sifting, leveling, or that blind baking thing.

The one thing I do know is that this pie is the perfect way to end your summer meals--with something easy, cool, and delicious.  It's gonna be a great nine weeks!  :)

---------------------------------------------------
(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

24 oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted + some to grease the pie pan
pinch sea salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
square of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 quart coffee ice cream, softened (I use Haagen-Dazs)
pie plate


First toast the nuts:  put them in a small skillet on the stove over med-low heat and shake them periodically.  They are done when they start to brown and smell nutty (they go quick so keep an eye on them).  Remove from heat and place in bowl.  Set aside.

toasted almonds

Grease your pie an.
Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter in bowl.  Empty into pie pan and press in bottom and up sides to make a crust.  Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the bottom and place in freezer to set, approx. 30 minutes.

Remove from freezer and spread softened ice cream over the crust.  Sprinkle with almonds, and grate some chocolate over the top.  Place in freezer, covered, for a few hours until the ice cream freezes again. When ready to serve, let soften on the counter for a few minutes and slice into wedges.

* first published 2019

Tostadas

 It's rainy and sad here today on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and what gets rid of sad faster than mexican food?  Nothing.  It's impossible to be in a bad mood with a pitcher of margaritas nearby.  Impossible! 

So I pulled out this tostada shell recipe to cheer us all up and whadya know--smiles all around!   I KNEW it! 

ps:  margaritas optional, but highly recommended :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

(Making tostada shells this way tastes so much fresher than buying them pre-packaged and it's so easy you'll never go back)

Enough corn tortillas to feed your guests.  I bought 30 for $2.98 at my local grocery store

vegetable oil

salt

Optional toppings:  I like refried beans, taco meat, diced tomatoes, shredded iceburg lettuce, shredded cheddar, and a cantina-type salsa, but the possibilities are endless

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place tortillas on cookie sheet and lightly brush oil on both sides, sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 6 minutes, turn over and bake another 6 minutes

  Serve with your favorite toppings  

Artichokes

Growing up, artichokes were a big treat in the Spring.

With the weather turning hotter but the evenings still enjoyable, before the on-set of oppressive summer heat here on the Gulf Coast that keeps you inside until October, my mother would make them for dinner and we would take them onto the back porch and eat them by the pool...leaf by leaf...talking and laughing...about nothing really...listening to the crickets and the distant rumble of thunder that would bring the steamy rain.  She worked always, so it was enjoyable to have her all to myself, and those times were really savored and special to me, and still are.

I still eat artichokes with my mother, but now I make them for HER, the back porch and pool are mine, and MY daughter joins us.  Talk about savored and special...these really are the best of times  :)

--------------------------------------------------
(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1 globe artichoke per person
1 lemon, cut in half
a wedge of parmesan cheese (both for eating and grating)
kitchen scissors

Sauces for dipping:  it's most popular to have them with a lemony butter sauce, but my mother likes blue cheese dressing and I like to dip them in buttermilk ranch dressing.  Buy your favorites.

** (If making butter sauce:  combine some melted butter, a pinch of garlic powder, and a squeeze of fresh lemon.  Mix together.)

Cut the bottom stem off the artichoke. 

Then cut the top off so that it's flat, not pointed.
Now go around each leaf with your scissors and trim off the pointy tip.  Rub the cut side of the lemon over the top so it doesn't turn brown.

In a large pot, let water just come up to a slow rolling boil, squeeze the lemons into the water and place in pot with artichokes.

Turn down heat and let simmer, covered, for approx. 50 minutes.  They will be done when you can insert a knife into the bottom easily with no resistance.

Drain in a colander and let sit upside down for a few minutes to drain and to cool down so you can handle them.  Place on plate with sauce(s) for dipping.  

I like mine with some parmesan cheese on the side, and a cold rose'

If you've never eaten them before and don't know how, that's okay:  pull off one leaf, dip into sauce, and pull the bottom meaty part between your teeth.  The closer you get to the middle, the more tender the leaves will be and sometimes you can eat the whole thing.  When you run out of leaves, you will get to the choke--it's bristly and thistley and needs to go away!  Scoop it out with a spoon...and there you have it...the promised land.  What all your hard work was for...the heart.  Aptly named because it's the sweetest and best part :) 

artichoke heart

*first published May, 2019

Brunch Casserole: baked pasta with smokey bacon & peas

 

A pasta casserole of thick cut smoky bacon, baby peas, and parmesan cream sauce, baked in the oven until crispy on top and bubbly hot and gooey on the inside, finished with cracked black pepper.  My daughter says it "gives carbonara"--and she's right it does, but without the hassle.  

This is good on it's own as a light lunch, but paired with a platter of scrambled eggs and chives, and some store-bought pastries and fruit, it's the easiest thing you can do for a Mothers Day brunch, and she will love you.

And because of the carbonara vibes, it goes amazingly well with a pitcher of bloody marys--just sayin' :)

-------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1 pound round pasta, such as ziti rigate or small rigatoni

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into lardons

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce

1/2 bag (approx 8 ounces) frozen baby peas

1/2 onion, chopped

parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 stick butter, cut into indiv pats, plus a little more to grease the pan

salt/cracked black pepper/garlic powder

White wine

Chicken broth

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 casserole dish with butter.

Cook pasta until just al dente--it will continue to cook in the oven and you don't want it to be mushy.  While that's cooking...

Fry bacon, drain grease except for 1 tbs. and set aside.  In this pan, saute onion in 1 tbs bacon grease.  When browned, add jar of sauce, some white wine and chicken broth (how much is up to you, it depends on how wet your casserole to be.  I'd start with a half cup of wine and 3/4 cup broth and go from there).  Cook on low heat until warmed through and the flavors come together.

When pasta is ready, drain and place in buttered casserole dish, and lightly sprinkle salt/pepper/garlic powder over the top.  Add frozen peas, bacon and sauce, mix until combined.  Sprinkle generously with grated parmesan, and put pats of butter over the top. 

Bake for 40 minutes:  15 minutes covered, and 25 minutes uncovered.

Serve, seasoned with finishing salt and pepper as necessary--

Mango Salsa

This refreshing mango salsa goes with all the grilled meats, so no matter what you're serving, it works like a charm.  You can serve it all summer--

--------------------------------------------------

(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

2 or 3 mangos, diced
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime, plus another lime reserved for finishing (2 limes)
1 red bell pepper, chopped

salt/pepper

 my jalapeno plant

Stir all in bowl and chill in refrigerator.  Before eating, stir and season with a little salt and pepper to taste, and another squeeze of fresh lime juice. 

Last night I served it with grilled fish ~

* first published March 2020

Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita

 

You can make a pitcher of these for a crowd, or just a single drink for yourself.  Or a pitcher for yourself, nobody's judging.

 

They have a sweet, salty, spicy heat that screams summer, but with an unexpected, mischievous twist.  And tequila.  Really, do you need any more convincing? 

--------------------------------------------

(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1  59-ounce container of "Pineapple Orange" juice (I use Dole—it lives in the refrigerated section of my grocery store, by the produce)

1 1/2 or 2 cups of your favorite tequila

1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, unseeded, sliced into thicker wheels 

fresh pineapple, cut in bite-size chunks

kosher salt

ice

pitcher

Note:  I garnish each drink by itself, because if you add the sliced jalapenos to the pitcher, the drink becomes too spicy as it sits, and the pineapple will break apart.

Mix container of juice and tequila in pitcher and keep cold until ready to serve.

Rim glass with salt, pour drink over ice, add jalapeno slices and pineapple to your drink and serve.

* first published 5/24

Oven Pasta Bake: chicken, radicchio, mushrooms, & fontina

On Sundays at my house, we eat dinner early so we can get ready for the week ahead.  I like to make this in the afternoon, and set it out with plates and silverware in the kitchen--it can be eaten as a late lunch and again later if you're still hungry.  We serve ourselves, and everyone eats when they want to.  It also comes together quickly so it's a great weeknight meal.

The variations on this are endless.  If you want to be totally decadent, you can add crumbled blue cheese when you mix it before baking, but it's so rich I only do it when we're eating it with other dishes. I've also substituted peas and cooked bacon for the spinach and chicken, and found that it's an excellent side dish if you leave out the chicken entirely.  In every way, it's good with a dry white wine :)

------------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 lb. box of pasta (bowtie or ziti rigate), cooked and set aside 

2 small heads radicchio, sliced in ribbons like you would for coleslaw

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce

fontina cheese, grated (approx 2 cups)

parmesan cheese (the green can is fine for this)

1 bag fresh spinach

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

approx 3 tablespoons butter, plus more for the pan

the breast of one whole rotisserie chicken, shredded

salt/pepper/garlic powder

9x13 baking pan (if you have one of those aluminum disposable ones, even better)

shredded radicchio

Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter your baking pan.

In a deep-sided skillet, saute mushrooms, spinach, and radicchio in butter until mushrooms are browned and vegetables are wilted a little.  Add alfredo sauce and mix.  Add some white wine and chicken broth to the jar, cover, and shake to get the remainder of the sauce.  Add to the pan and simmer on low to marry the flavors, this is your sauce. Sprinkle with salt/pepper/and garlic powder to taste.

When everything is cooked down and incorporated:  add pasta, half of the fontina cheese, shredded chicken, and the sauce to the baking pan and mix so that all is incorporated evenly.  Sprinkle the remainder of the fontina on top with parmesan cheese to cover.  

ready for the oven

Bake uncovered for approx 45-60 minutes, until hot all the way through.  The top will be crusty and the inside will be moist and delicious.  If you don't want a crusty top, bake it covered.

Serve on a plate with more parmesan, salt, and pepper